A CAVITY wall insulator turned singer has been signed to a record label and will perform at one of the country’s biggest festivals.

Johnny Routledge, 42, of Ash Fall, Witham, performs as soul and swing singer Johnny Mack and has even been praised by singing legend Sir Tom Jones.

Johnny began his professional career six years ago and is now set to perform with X Factor contestants in front of a 10,000-strong crowd at Party in the Park, in Leeds.

He said: “I used to sing when I was younger and was a karaoke host for years.

“I used to do cavity wall insulation but the company I worked for had a lot of redundancies and I was able to leave before it happened to me.

“It took a while to get used to being on stage but the kids love going to the festivals and watching me perform.”

The singer performed on ITV’s Friday Night Fever back in 1999 and more recently for former London mayor Boris Johnson.

He has now been signed to Charthouse Music and his debut single Down to the River is available to stream on Reverbnation and will be on sale on iTunes soon.

Mr Routledge is now able to spend more time with his wife Tara, 36, and two children Charlie, two, and Caitlin, eight.

He said: “It’s been a lot of hard work but my first album will be released on December and I have a couple of tracks out at the moment.

“My first gig was in the Little Elms pub, Witham. There will be thousands of people watching me perform at my next gig – Party in the Park, in Leeds – which will be slightly different.

“I will be the unknown man, which is good for me.”

Johnny will be performing at the festival on July 9, where he will join X Factor contestants from the past six years.

For more information or to book a performance, visit team-midas.com or johnnymack.co.uk.